Trip offering college credit

The first Birthright trip offering participants academic credit is now in Israel. Some 50 students from colleges and universities in the United States are participating in the inaugural cohort and will be entitled to three academic credits at their academic institutions, according to Taglit Birthright.

They are attending courses at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, or IDC, and at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev during their two-week stay.

At the IDC, the students learn about “The challenge of terrorism in Israel and the Middle East” and visit an Iron Dome battery in the field. At Ben- Gurion, they will study “Global Warming, Renewable Energy and the Desert Ecosystem,” which includes snorkeling in the coral reef in Eilat.

Birthright Israel provides a free 10- day to two-week trip to Israel for Jews aged 18 to 26. (JTA)